This invention pertains to information gathering and more particularly to polling techniques utilizing a public telephone network.
Mass media news programs such as television and radio news broadcasts are constantly sampling public opinion on current issues. Generally, such sampling or trial voting is performed by the station or its agents calling a small sample of a scientifically selected cross section of the population. Each selected person is specifically queried. Such sampling techniques are both time consuming and expensive.
Electronic jouranlists constantly are seeking more rapid polling techniques which permit faster recording of votes by larger numbers of people.